A motorcyclist who was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant was killed Monday when he collided with another vehicle while fleeing from an officer who tried to pull him over for a routine traffic stop.

Authorities Thursday identified the motorcyclist as George Rodriguez, 43, of Arleta. He died at the scene, the coroner’s office reported.

The collision happened about 8 a.m. at the intersection of Via Campo and Wilcox Avenue, according to Montebello police and the California Highway Patrol.

An officer tried to make a traffic stop but the rider, who was named in a no-bail arrest warrant, fled northbound on Wilcox Avenue, ran a red light and collided with a vehicle that was eastbound on Via Campo, Montebello police Lt. Julio Calleros said.

The officer did not chase the motorcyclist, Calleros said.

The woman driving the other vehicle was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, according to Calleros, who did not know why the motorcyclist was wanted.

Via Campo was closed between Wilcox and Vail avenues while an investigation was conducted, as was the Wilcox Avenue off-ramp from the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway.

Pomona (60) Freeway on-ramps will be closed overnight tomorrow and Wednesday in Montebello to accommodate soil studies being conducted as part of Metro’s plan to extend the Gold Line through the area.

The Vale Avenue on-ramp to the eastbound 60 will be closed from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. Wednesday, according to Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo.

“Motorists will be rerouted to Potrero Grande Drive, Hill Drive and the San Gabriel Boulevard on-ramp at Town Center Drive,” Ubaldo said.

The southbound Paramount Boulevard on-ramp to the westbound 60 will be closed from 8 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday and drivers will be detoured to Montebello Boulevard to access the San Gabriel Boulevard on-ramp, Ubaldo said.
“Metro is studying two alternatives to extend the Gold Line from its current terminus at Pomona and Atlantic boulevards in East Los Angeles,” according to Ubaldo.

A 2011 tanker explosion that destroyed a freeway bridge in Montebello occurred because Peterbilt Motors Co. manufactured a defective part deep within the chassis of the big rig, an attorney for a transportation company told a jury today, but a defense blamed the accident on the truck’s mechanics.

In his opening statement in trial of Cool Transports’ lawsuit against the Texas-based truck maker, lawyer Michael Partos said the universal joint on the forward section of the interaxle drive shaft of the truck failed, causing bearing caps to puncture the tanker.

The 8,800 gallons of fuel that had just been picked up a few miles away became ignited by sparks, Partos said.

“This case is about a manufacturer who didn’t want to stand behind his product,” Partos told the Los Angeles Superior Court jury.

But lawyer Richard Moreno, on behalf of Peterbilt, placed the blame for the accident squarely on Cool Transports’ truck maintenance crew. He said California Highway Patrol inspectors examined the forward universal joint and found no evidence it was recently greased.

“There’s no evidence of fresh lubrication on that drive shaft,” Moreno said. “That’s the million-dollar question, was it greased or was it not?” Partos said there is no dispute about which part on the truck broke.

To bolster their explanations to jurors, both lawyers used computer-generated images, a replica complete interaxle drive shaft and the original section of the interaxle drive shaft that fell off the truck.

CHP officers recovered the part and conducted the investigation into the Dec. 14, 2011, accident that left the Paramount Boulevard overcrossing of the Pomona (60) Freeway too severely damaged to be repaired.

In December 2011, Peterbilt conducted a recall of trucks built between January 2006 and April 2007 because of issues with drive shafts and universal joints, Moreno said. However, the truck involved in the accident was not subject to the recall because the 2006 model big rig was built in 2005, he said.

Moreno said the recalled trucks were having problems when they were much newer that the one involved in the accident, which was six years old at the time and had close to 700,000 miles on it.

The current lawsuit is an outgrowth of a lawsuit filed in February 2013 by the state Department of Transportation against Cool Transports, which has terminals in Cudahy and Colton, and the driver of the petroleum tanker, Bilal Ahmed Ghutta. The state sought $10.5 million, but the case was settled before the current trial, with Cool Transports agreeing to pay the state $5.9 million.

Ghutta was driving in the eastbound right lane of the freeway when the accident occurred, according to the state’s lawsuit. After Ghutta felt the driveshaft detach, he stopped the truck under the Paramount Boulevard bridge, where the tanker exploded, according to the state’s complaint.

The bridge, originally built in 1967, was shut down following the fire, which forced a lengthy closure of the 60 Freeway between the Long Beach (710) and San Gabriel River (605) freeways while Caltrans crews assessed the integrity of the structure.

The bridge was demolished once it was determined the fire had caused too much damage. Its replacement, which opened ahead of schedule in May 2012, is 128 feet wide, 32 feet broader than the old one, and includes an additional northbound lane, an eight-foot shoulder, a 14-foot center median and six-foot sidewalks.

Angered by the possibility of another transportation project devastating their community, dozens of eastside residents expressed their opposition to a SR-710 North alternative they believe would once again require East Los Angeles to pay a high price for what is a regional problem.

“For decades, we have been the dumping grounds for the problems of other communities,” said Clara Solis Saturday during a Metro meeting in East L.A.

“Now we’re being asked once again to sacrifice for the greater good,” she said in disbelief.

It soon became clear that the majority of East L.A. residents at the meeting at Griffith Middle School believe the light rail train (LRT) alternative will disrupt a community already divide and surrounded by transportation projects.

Longtime East Los Angeles resident Margarita Sanchez, pictured left, scolds Metro officials for a SR-710 alternative she belives will devastate her community during a meeting Saturday at Griffith Middle School. (EGP photo by Nancy Martinez)

“East L.A. has taken their burden, they have taken a fair share of projects,” said Jeffrey Hernandez, referring to the 60 (Pomona) 5 (Santa Ana/Golden State) and 710 (Long Beach) freeways and Metro Gold Line that were built to benefit traffic in the region but have splintered the eastside community.

Many said they prefer a tunnel over an elevated light rail train that would stay above ground through East L.A., but go underground in more affluent communities, such as South Pasadena, San Marino and La Canada.

“While the light rail is being proposed under the guise of a regional solution, the fact is it is nothing more than an irresponsible and unconscionable response to the more influential areas opposing the logical completion of the 710 Freeway,” she told EGP in a statement.

“Unfortunately, this light rail alternative is one more example of a minority community being sacrificed to appease more affluent neighborhoods.”

A similar statement from Roybal-Allard was read during Saturday’s meeting, drawing loud cheers from residents, heartened to hear an elected official speak so strongly in support of their community. Roybal-Allard represents East Los Angeles and Commerce, also located adjacent to the 710 freeway.

The meeting was at times rowdy, as residents and business owners, often speaking loudly and passionately, demanded Metro officials give them a chance to be heard: something they said the agency failed to do during earlier scoping process.

When Metro officials refused to allow speakers who had gone over their allotted two minutes to keep speaking, the crowd at times responded angrily.

“Why not? Of course you can extend the amount of time,” one woman yelled out from the audience. Two minutes, “is not enough [time] for what we have to say.”

According to the Draft Environmental report, building the light rail would force the removal of 15 businesses.

“We in East L.A. have made a sacrifice to relieve traffic, we don’t need another Gold Line,” said Lily Hernandez. “What we need is jobs, we need progress and this alternative is going to hinder that,” Hernandez said.

Business owner Tony DeMarco, representing the Whittier Boulevard Merchants Association, said he believed the EIR/EIS process has been flawed since before it was expanded into East L.A.

“They should have allowed East L.A. to be in the discussion when there was 100 alternatives, not just when there’s 5 left.”

“The rich communities have had years to study this,” echoed Margarita Sanchez, a longtime East L.A resident. “You have the nerve to bring this to our community at the last minute.”

“It’s kind of like a take it or leave it attitude,” DeMarco said.

Many of those who oppose the light rail favor another controversial alternative.

“If you’re to give us what we need, give us a tunnel,” David Ibarra said defiantly.

However, Mark Lopez of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice warned attendees not to be so quick to support the tunnel.

“East L.A. was so late in the process, [it’s] a tactic used to instigate more support for the tunnel project,” he told EGP.

A map of East Los Angeles illustrate how the community is surrounded by freeways. (Google Maps)

“We need to get back to the scoping, not picking an alternative,” he said.

Dr. Tom Williams, a Sierra Club member and El Sereno resident, said he opposes all current alternatives. He said a community group is getting ready to submit yet another community alternative. In May, the cities of Glendale, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena gave their support to the Beyond the 710 coalition’s “6th alternative,” not in the Draft EIR.

The plan calls for expanding public transportation, building a four-lane boulevard, and more pedestrian- and bike-friendly paths to reduce traffic congestion in the western San Gabriel Valley. Construction ends south of those cities. The 710 Coalition — which includes several cities and communities along the 710 freeway that favor the tunnel alternative — criticized the new initiative as too late in the game and just a guise for tunnel opponents to “undermine Metro’s ongoing DEIR/EIS process, which took four years to be reviewed, processed and released.”

On Saturday, County Supervisor Hilda Solis said the community must continue to make sure their voices are heard during the review process. She agreed that more information about the impact to the region is warranted.

“As I have stated in more than one occasion, I do not believe that the East LA community has enough information about the health impacts of the different options for the 710 N. extension,” she told EGP in an email; stopping short of answering if she agrees with Roybal-Allard that the light rail train is another example of environmental racism.

“I do not see any of the alternatives as a natural choice, especially when considering the health, development, and economic impacts to those in my district,” Solis said. “I will continue to push Metro and Caltrans to be inclusive, transparent and responsive, until we have all the information we need to make a choice that helps … all residents of Los Angeles County.”

For East L.A. Chamber of Commerce Executive Board Member Eddie Torres, the choice is clear. He says his Chamber, the Whittier Merchants, Maravilla Business Improvement Assoc. and new East Los Angeles Advisory Board all support the tunnel alternative.

“We surveyed people leaving the meeting and about 80% said they want the tunnel, not a light rail, he told EGP. “ We’re hearing that Solis says we don’t want either, but that’s not true,” he said.

“Congresswoman Roybal-Allard has it right, she knows the community, she knows what we need and supports us.”

At a meeting in East Los Angeles Saturday, resident after resident voiced concern that a “plague” of pollution and health issues could rain down on their predominately Latino neighborhoods if they are forced to endure more light rail construction.

Their comments came during a public hearing at Griffith Middle School on Metro’s draft environmental report and study on alternatives for closing the gap between the Long Beach (710) and Pasadena (210) freeways.

Earlier that week, Martha Hernandez attended a meeting at Centro Maravilla in East L.A. with USC-Medical Center doctors who explained the substantial health risks tied to pollution.

“We were told air pollution causes asthma, diabetes, autism, and other illnesses,” she told EGP in Spanish.

A map of East Los Angeles illustrate how the community is surrounded by freeways. (Google Maps)

Like Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, many people at the meeting believe they are the victims of environmental racism and injustice, and were given little say on a project that could tear up their community.

“I’ve had enough of those who want to continue taking advantage of East L.A. because we are Latinos,” said Carmen Gonzalez, who lives near Mednik and Third Street, where a light rail station would be built if this option is selected.

Speakers said past transportation projects have already left them exposed to high levels of toxic pollution.

“I have asthma and it’s harder for me to play football,” said Garfield High School student Timothy Williams.

Living in an area with high levels of traffic pollution can lead to serious illnesses, according to a recent infographic, Living Near Busy Roads or Traffic Pollution, shared by the USC Environmental Health Center.

The infographic shows that women who are pregnant are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure, giving birth to low-weight and/or premature babies, who in turn have higher levels of behavior or learning problems and autism; smaller lungs, asthma, ear, nose, throat infections and obesity. In adults, long-term exposure to pollution can lead to higher levels of heart disease, stroke, lung problems, memory loss and a shorter life span, the report found.

“We have schools, parks, the senior apartments and businesses” close to where they want to build the light rail, and there’s no doubt that’s harmful, Gonzalez told EGP in Spanish.

Before the meeting started, stakeholders were able to review maps and other documents pertaining to the five alternatives under consideration in the Draft EIR. They also had the chance to grill Metro staff about the plans.

One group of women directed their frustration at a Metro representative, questioning him about a now retired Metro employee’s assertion that metal scrapings from the elevated train – two stories high in some sections – would be released into the air and breathed in by unsuspecting residents.

Rudy Torres owns a business in East Los Angeles and says he supports the building of a 710 tunnel. He says, “It is the only [option] that doesn’t put a burden on East L.A. and cost life.”

The East Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce is actively fighting the light rail option, which they say will do nothing to relieve traffic on the 710 Freeway but will disrupt life on the eastside. The business group says a tunnel connecting the 710 to the 210 Freeway is a better solution for traffic reduction that will not be as harmful to the East L.A. community. “It will improve the flow of traffic and decrease traffic on surface streets north of Valley Boulevard, therefore reducing pollution in our local communities,” the Chamber states.

A little further south on the 710 corridor is the City of Commerce. The city’s residents on a daily basis experience the impact of diesel exhaust from the nearly 47,000 trucks that travel the 710 freeway everyday, and as many as 1,000 trucks an hour on the city’s main streets.

The daily exposure to high levels of exhaust causing pollution has raised Commerce residents’ risk for cancer, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

Last October, Commerce approved a resolution strongly supporting the effort to close the 4.5-mile gap “as soon as possible.” City officials believe completion of the freeway will alleviate traffic in local neighborhoods, generate economic development and create jobs in the region.

On Tuesday, Commerce unveiled one of the 20 the new “No Idling” signs that will be placed throughout the city targeting truck drivers who leave their engines running while stopped in the city.

Mayor Lilia Leon calls closing the 710 a much-needed regional effort to improve transportation. “Because there is not a connector, everybody ends up in Commerce,” Leon said. “If there was one, probably they would keep going on the 710,” she told EGP. “I’m sure it will alleviate the traffic flow,” she said.

Councilman Jose Huizar (CD14), who represents El Sereno, an L.A. neighborhood that has for decades been at the forefront of efforts to block the 710 expansions, disagrees.

On his website he states that he strongly opposes the 710 freeway expansion and believes a “multi-modal approach” — which could includes things like street light synchronization and dedicated bus lanes — is the better alternative to alleviate traffic.

“I oppose any option that disrupts the community of El Sereno or brings additional traffic to the area. The five alternatives in the Draft 710 EIR fall woefully short in my opinion,” Huizar told EGP via email.

“Working with local stakeholders and community groups, my office has begun the process of asking El Sereno and the surrounding communities a question that no one has asked them up until now: What do they want? What traffic improvements can we make locally that help, serve and advance the community of El Sereno?” Huizar said.

The councilman hosted a meeting on the SR-710 alternatives in El Sereno last week, which according to his spokesperson Rick Coca was “well-attended.” The “focus was entirely on truly listening to local residents to get their feedback – something that has been lacking in this process,” said Coca.

Metro held a meeting Saturday at Griffith Middle School in East Los Angeles to allow eastside residents a chance to provide testimony on the SR-710 North project.(EGP photo by Nancy Martinez)

If the light rail train is constructed, 15 businesses will have to be moved and the new East LA Civic Center Plaza would be replaced with a train station. About 155 employees would lose their jobs according to the website East LA Against Injustice and Racism. Nueva Maravilla Public Housing and Kipp Raices Charter School—which will open in the fall—could also be taken.

Several residents told Metro that more studies and health assessments must be made before they reach a decision.

In the past “People proposed a lot of ideas that were ignored said East L.A. resident Luis Garcia.

A 19-year-old motorcyclist from El Monte was killed when he lost control of his bike as he was exiting a Pomona (60) Freeway off-ramp in East Los Angeles, the California Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.

The crash took place on the Downey Road off-ramp of the westbound 60 Freeway about 9:35 p.m. Tuesday, said CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos. The name of the victim was withheld pending family notification.

According to the CHP’s accident report, the unnamed man was riding a 2014 BMW motorcycle west on the 60 Freeway at a high rate of speed. He then tried to exit the freeway on the Downey Road off-ramp without slowing down. But he was not able to negotiate a curve in the off-ramp and slammed his motorcycle into a guardrail and was ejected.

Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene, according to the CHP.

The crash shut down the Downey Road off-ramp for nearly three hours and a Sig-Alert was declared by the CHP, which reported that the road was cleared at 12:32 a.m.